Video settings

Click Frenzy 2013 will be 'simply amazing'

While Click Frenzy director Grant Arnott admits the unprecedented consumer rush was too much for their systems to handle, he denies the event was a failure, saying with more preparation, next year's sale will be 'simply amazing'.

Some retailers say their online sales jumped as a result of the Click Frenzy promotion, despite consumer complaints following the website's crash on Tuesday.

Retailers such as Woolworths and Windsor Smith said consumers bypassed the Click Frenzy website when it went down and shopped at their online stores instead.

Having to compete against iconic global retailers such Amazon teaches you a lot.

''We did phenomenal figures and we were very happy with it,'' said Jane Mance of Windsor Smith, a wholesale footwear retailer. ''We got what we would normally get in a month in one night as far as unique visitors to our website, and I have to attribute that to Click Frenzy.''

When the Click Frenzy site was down, shoppers just went straight to the participating retailers.

Ms Mance said unique visitors to the site reached six-digit figures on Tuesday night.

Benedict Brook, a spokesman for Woolworths, which manages two brands taking part in the promotion - Dan Murphy's and Masters Home Improvements - said their websites saw a spike in visitors, especially when the Click Frenzy website became unavailable.

''We had around 200 per cent more customers than usual,'' Mr Brook said.

'Prepared for the additional load'

Both retailers said they were prepared for the additional load, with Windsor Smith conducting repeated tests to its servers - managed by a Melbourne digital company - to ensure their site could handle up to 500,000 unique visitors at any given time.

However, Melbourne IT, which monitored the availability and response times for 153 websites that participated in Click Frenzy, said between 6pm and midnight on Tuesday night about ''about two-thirds of the participating sites had issues, which is not good''.

Woolworths and Westfield, another participating retailer, said they would always be keen to be involved in any promotion that would boost the image of their brands and clients to consumers.

Ms Mance said she was surprised to find that even items not on sale being snapped up.

''Even the day before, we were getting incredible sales on our full-price items. Last night, our full-price items sold neck-to-neck with our [sale items].''

Up to $30,000 to advertise on Click Frenzy site

Click Frenzy's owners would have made a tidy sum too, with the company charging retailers up to $30,000 for advertising space on the website.

On the low end, an "initial brand set-up and first listing" would cost a retailer $1500 plus GST, a Click Frenzy advertising booklet states. At the premium end, $30,000 plus GST would get a retailer featured deals on the homepage or site-wide advertising excluding the homepage.

Senior industry analyst Naren Sivasailam of IBISWorld said despite the technical problems, the Click Frenzy event was an opportunity for Australian retailers to acknowledge that going online represented the present and future of the industry.

''It's a testament to the fact that online retail is well and truly in the mainstream consciousness,'' he said, adding that Australian retailers should have shored up their online presence five years ago.

''I think it's an acknowledgement that this is where it's going and [Australian retailers] do have to get with the program, and participating in sales like this ... if the retailers have experienced a spike in sales, is a taste of things to come. Multi-channelling retailing to some extent is the future.''

'We were not prepared for the scale'

Click Frenzy said in a statement released on Wednesday that the number of consumers visiting its website was ''multiple times greater than the maximum capacity we had''. The company said it was prepared for one-million unique visitors within 24 hours.

Click Frenzy also stated that it had received ''very positive responses'' from retailers such as Booktopia and Chemist Warehouse.

''Phenomenal sales for Booktopia so far. Site never missed a beat. In the past hour we were doing 11 sales a minute with customers doing large orders,'' Tony Nash of Booktopia reportedly told Click Frenzy.

Julia Salter of EzyDVD said in a statement that its site saw ''a 550 per cent increase in sales and already trends suggest we'll do the same sales number in the next 12 hours''.

"Seventy-five per cent of all visitors are new to the site which bodes well for future sales especially around the key holiday period. We couldn't be happier.''

Continued growth of online retail

Craig White of Elan, which operates EzyDVD, said he believed the increased traffic and sales were set to continue.

''It will only get bigger and bigger and I believe the early mistakes customers experienced will be long forgotten given the scale of success we are seeing,'' he said. ''Having to compete against iconic global retailers such Amazon teaches you a lot. We were prepared for Click Frenzy but not for the scale of sales response.''

Mr Brook could not say if Woolworths would participate in Click Frenzy again next year, but added the retail giant would not be seeking compensation from the company following the website crash.

''Many, many customers came through to our websites and are coming through Click Frenzy. We saw a lot of customers and we are pleased with the result,'' he said.

Mr Sivasailam said online sales in Australia would continue to show double-digit growth, at the very least, for the next 12 months.

35 comments

I purchased from EzyDVD and Booktopia - they had wide raginging and attractive discounts, which is more than I could say for some of the other Click Frenzy participants!

Commenter

Brit

Location

Camp Hill

Date and time

November 21, 2012, 1:22PM

Were they actual discounts though? I checked a few popular books that had big badges advertising 30% off etc ... of course, what they meant was 30% of RRP ... but something like the latest Game of Thrones book was sold on Booktopia for $16.99 ... the same price you can get in any bookstore on the street at any time.

I suspect many people were 'suckered in' to a degree into thinking they got a discount when in actual fact they were unawares what the street value of the item was and only went off what the retailer said their 'savings' were.

Commenter

Peter P

Date and time

November 21, 2012, 3:24PM

Tried to shop at Target, ended up at Macy's.Welcome to the internet.

Commenter

whhhhhhhhhh

Date and time

November 21, 2012, 1:44PM

Contribute that to clickfrenzy? Freudian slip.

It's not a case of any publicity is good publicity. If you waste your customer's time with less than attractive discounts, they know not to bother coming back for other sales, or to your stores at all. Some stores will have engendered good feelings from their customers, but most after this mess will know not to bother coming back to the majority of stores.

This is an over-hyped waste of everyone's time, and the fact that retailers don't understand this is a clear indication that they're not realistic. If you aim for the gutter, of course you'll achieve your target. Congrats.

Commenter

Sammy01

Date and time

November 21, 2012, 1:59PM

It was clearly a total scam. Of course the retailers are happy they fooled Australian's into believing their little stories once again.

Looks like many of us disappointed customers will just have to respond by purchasing at non Australian stores on line until you learn to treat your consumers with some respect.

The only one in the clear here is David Jones whom opted to go it alone.

Commenter

Rich

Location

Melb

Date and time

November 21, 2012, 2:06PM

Waste of time. Give us decent discounts or we won't bother. Looks like I'll be buying from overseas again this year..

Commenter

Borg

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

November 21, 2012, 2:22PM

The trouble is that only Myer etc could afford the $30,000 required to advertise on Clickfrenzy. Myer do not have the ability to discount by much because they usually just buy goods from wholesalers or manufacturers, add their margin and put it on a shelf.

For true discounts you need to go to manufacturers or wholesalers.

Commenter

DD

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

November 21, 2012, 2:22PM

"‘Having to compete against iconic global retailers such Amazon teaches you a lot."

Yeah, it teaches you that you are 15 years behind the curve. If Amazon ever gets serious about selling directly in Australia (again) you have no hope of competing in the online channel. At least not with your current non-specialized & commodity offerings.

Commenter

Jimmy

Location

Not_Australia

Date and time

November 21, 2012, 2:23PM

based on the quotes in this article, it should be called Cliché Friendly!

Commenter

malibbis1

Date and time

November 21, 2012, 2:37PM

I like to idea to shop online, have done it before many times will do so in the future. One thing I find a bit uneasy is discount ads that start with "up to 60% off"; I don't like that at all, makes me feel nervous, frustrated and even a bit itchy. I would like to see discounts "from 60% off". Actually, I really prefer discounts that are above 100%, yes, where I get paid to have, promote and use your product. After all, if I use your product why should I pay for it? You should pay me. Re-think your marketing strategies, please.

Related Coverage

21 Nov
While Click Frenzy director Grant Arnott admits the unprecedented consumer rush was too much for their systems to handle, he denies the event was a failure, saying with more preparation, next year's sale will be 'simply amazing'.